For the Love of Lily!
by selenehekate
Summary: "I bet you can't get Lily Evans to fall in love with you before the year's up," Sirius challenged. "That'll never happen." Now on a quest to prove Sirius wrong, James is fighting for Lily's affections... but will Lily give in to his advances?
1. James: January part 1

January 1 - Novation

"Sirius!" James complained loudly on New Year's Day. He flopped down onto his friend's couch, a pout on his face. Sirius stood by the fireplace. He was using a rolled up magazine to sweep soot off of the mantle when James spoke. "I'm bored."

His mate scoffed. "We're on a _holiday. _You aren't allowed to be bored."

"I can't help it! You really think I'm _trying_ to be bored-"

"I think you're trying to get attention."

James let out a bark of laughter. "Right. Like you've never done that, oh Mature One."

Sirius rolled his eyes before chucking the magazine at his friend. "Here's something to do. _Witch Weekly_. Give it a read."

"Seriously?" James asked, glaring down at the publication in disgust. "You expect me to read _this_? What, think I need to learn," he squinted down at the cover, "'one hundred ways to attract women', do you?"

"Yes," Sirius said simply. "And then you need to learn a hundred more."

"I do not-"

"James, you're utterly hopeless."

"No, I'm really not-"

"You're a sixth year," Sirius interrupted loudly. "Yet you've lusted after Lily Evans since you were fourteen, and _still_ she won't look twice at you."

James crossed his arms over his chest. "So?"

"So, the conclusion I've come to is that you're absolutely _rubbish_ with women," Sirius said drily as he sat down next to his friend.

"You're wrong."

"Am I, now? Well, then, I have an interesting proposition for you. If I'm so wrong, perhaps you'd like to prove it?" Sirius said, a glint of mischief entering his eyes. "Care to make a wager?"

"Well _that _certainly is a unique novation."

"A _what?" _Sirius balked.

"Eh, idea." James waved the question away. "Never mind. What sort of wager?"

"I bet you can't get Lily Evans to fall in love with you before the year's up," Sirius challenged, sitting up a bit straighter. "That'll never happen."

"Of course it will!" James argued. "It'll be easy."

"Well then you really aren't risking anything," Sirius said with a chuckle. "What do you say? If you win, I'll do your charms homework for a month. But if _I_ win," Sirius said, a cheeky grin slipping onto his face. "If Lily fails to fall for you within the ensuing 365 days, then you have to let me borrow your broom whenever I want it."

James frowned. "Sirius-"

"Oh," Sirius said with a grin. "Where did all of your confidence go now, Prongs? Interesting. Now that something is actually on the line, you're beginning to doubt yourself, are you?"

"I'm not!" James said quickly. He stuck out his hand. "Agreed."

"Agreed," Sirius said, shaking his best friend's hand. "Oh, and one more thing," he said after a slight pause. "Neither of us can tell Lily."

* * *

January 2 - Truss

Sirius raised an eyebrow as he stared down at the package in James' hand. The large box was wrapped in brown paper that was only being held together by a long piece of string wrapped seven or eight times around the package. It looked impossible to open. "James," he said slowly. "What is that?"

"A present," James said as he wrestled with the ribbon. "For Lily."

Sirius blinked. "A _Christmas_ present?"

"New Years," James said as he held both ends of the ribbon up. They were uneven. "I wanted to get the ball rolling. You know, prove you wrong-"

"Prongs, it's January _second_," Sirius said with a shake of his head.

"So it's a _belated_ New Years present," he said with a scowl. "Now would you help me truss this ribbon? I need you to hold it down!"

"She's not going to be able to open that, you know."

"Then next time, _you_ wrap the damn thing!"

* * *

January 3 - Solecism

James returned back to his parents' house exhausted; he loved Sirius Black, but whenever he stayed with his best friend, he always ended up _tired_. He was looking forward to nothing more than to get some sleep when a pounding at his front door forced him to get up.

"I'm coming," he called out as she shuffled to the door. A yawn escaped from his mouth as he slowly made his way down the stairs. "I'm coming." But the pounding wouldn't cease. If anything, it increased, becoming louder and faster. "Dear Merlin," James shouted. "I hope you realize you're creating a _huge_ solecism you rude, obnoxious, arrogant-" he wrenched the door open... and then froze. "Lily?"

The redhead stood there with the package in her heads and a blank look on her face. "Solecism?"

"Uh, a breach in etiquette - what are you doing here?"

In response, Lily shoved the unopened parcel into his hands. "Whatever game you're trying to play, I don't want to be involved."

"No, Lily it was a gift-"

"Right," she snorted as she turned around, moving down the steps. "You gave a gift to a rude, obnoxious, and _arrogant _girl like me. Very believable, Potter." With a shake of her head, she began to move off down the sidewalk.

"Lily!" James called after her. But she didn't stop. "Dammit!"

* * *

January 4 - Fetial

James did _not_ like being off-guard. In fact, he took great pains to avoid such an occurrence. He found that when he _was_ caught off guard, however, that the best thing to do was to get even.

Which is how he arrived at Lily Evans' doorstep the next morning, the package in his hand. "Lily," he said with a grin as he held out the package.

"Potter! What... You're lucky my sister isn't home!"

"Because she'll try to kiss me?" he joked.

"Because she'll try to _kill_ you," Lily snapped with a glare. "What do you want?"

"I'm hear to deliver this," he said simply, holding the package out to her. "So, here you go."

"No," Lily said with a shake of her head. "I already told you, I'm not taking it!"

"Look, Evans," James said with a sigh, "I'm not trying to prank you, okay? I know you're way too concerned with your fetial expectations to understand this, but I'm just being nice. I promise."

Lily, however, once again looked confused. "How is it that you keep using words I don't know?"

James shrugged. "I have a large vocabulary."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Oh, please," James said with a laugh. "You didn't think I got decent grades from actually _knowing_ anything, did you? No, I've found that using big words is an easy way to trick our professors into thinking that I know what I'm talking about. Especially in History of Magic." He gave a wide grin. "Now are you going to take the package or not?"

Lily smiled up at him. "Not."

James, however, just shrugged. "Suit yourself. It's only a matter of time, Lily. You'll take it eventually."

* * *

January 5 - Gasconade

"Another Christmas gone," Sirius said with a sigh from inside the train's compartment. "Another semester to begin."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Remus said with a small smile.

"You say that like it's not," Sirius retorted with a snort.

"But you'll get to see Marlene again," Peter spoke up. "I thought you liked her."

Sirius shrugged. "She's all right."

"I thought you _slept _with her," Remus clarified.

A smirk flitted once more onto Sirius' face. "Like I said, she's all right."

"When you've finished with your gasconade," James said with a roll of his eyes. "Does one of you want to come with me to the front? I want to ask Dorcas about the Transfiguration homework. I don't think I did it right."

"Well, I could look over it, if you want," Remus offered.

But Sirius just let out a big laugh. "Don't even bother, mate," he said. "James here is hoping to run into Evans."

"Am not!"

"Uh-huh," Sirius said with a chuckle. "Whatever you say." Remus and Peter grinned at the seeker, silently agreeing with Sirius' analysis.

James shook his head. "You lot have too much time on your hands," he said as he stood up. "I'm just going to ask a question on the homework. Nothing more," he wrenched the door open. "Nothing le- Evans!" he said, his eyes going wide as he spotted the muggle-born girl in the corridor. As his friends began to laugh, he slammed the compartment door shut behind him. "What are you doing?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Does it matter?"

"No! No, of course not."

She cocked her head to the side. "You're not still trying to give me that stupid package, are you?"

"Why? Are you suddenly accepting it?"

"Never, Potter."

James shrugged. "Then I can wait. I'll be seeing you, Evans."

"Unfortunately," Lily breathed as she walked away.

* * *

January 6 - Sprat

It wasn't until their first day back at classes that Sirius and James filled Remus in on their little bet. Upon hearing the news, though, all he could do was shake his head in amusement. "You two really can be quite thick sometimes, can't you?"

"I think we've just been insulted, Prongs," Sirius said with a laugh.

"I'd rather take that as a compliment," James said with a grin. "Perhaps I'm just too thick to see it as an insult."

"Did you two tell Peter, yet?" Remus asked.

"No," James said, glancing at Sirius. "Padfoot had a rather _evil_ idea-"

"I want to see how long it will take him to figure out what's going on," Sirius explained.

"Thick and _evil_," Remus muttered with a shake of his head.

"Hey! If _anyone_ of us is thick, it's Wormtail, and you know it!"

"Thick, evil, and _insulting_. My, you're just moving right up the ranks, aren't you?" Remus said drily.

"Never mind that," James said, interrupting the light banter. "Tell me, Moony. Do you think I have a chance?"

"At what?"

"At getting Lily to fall in love with me!"

"Oh, that..." Remus bit his lip considering. "No."

"_No?_"

"Ha!" Sirius laughed. "I told you, mate!"

"Not right now, at least," he explained. "You're too insignificant, too marginal. You're a... oh, what's that word you always use?"

"A sprat?"

"Yes! You're a sprat in her life: you're meaningless. Actually, you're nothing more than an annoyance."

"Well, thank you for that," James said, sarcasm ringing through his voice. "You have me absolutely brimming with hope, now."

"You should be," Remus said, moving to sit down on his bed. "Because at least now you know what you should do to get her attention."

"Oh, really?" James challenged. "And what's that?"

"Stop being insignificant."

* * *

January 7 - Cimmerian

In an effort to stop being an inconsequential part of Lily's life, James decided to immediately start forcing interactions with her every day. It was the only way he could be certain that he was making an impact, that he'd no longer be just a sprat.

"Morning, Evans," he said that morning. He was uncharacteristically nervous - this was the first interaction with her he'd staged since James had made the decision to be a bigger part of Lily's life. What if it didn't go well?

Lily, however, barely looked at him. "Potter."

He swallowed before he quickly began to speak. "There are too many clouds in the sky today for my liking. Don't you agree? It's quite a gloomy day. Too gloomy. It's cimmerian - a cimmerian day... You know what I hope they serve at breakfast? Toast with cinnamon on it. Isn't that delicious? I mean, toast in _general_ is delicious, but when you add cinnamon, it's even better. Though any type of toast is pretty good. Unless it's a toast at a party," he said, letting out a shaky laugh. "No, those are usually pretty dull, you know what I mean. Always the same, and boring, and-"

"You're babbling, Potter," Lily said flatly.

"Ah. I suppose I am. Sorry," James said as he tried as hard as he could to stop the red circles from creeping onto his cheeks.

"Was there anything that you wanted?"

"Er, no. Not particularly."

"All right then," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "See you later."

James had to stop himself from visibly flinching. That did _not_ go well at all.

* * *

Hey world! This is the first installment in this new, multi-chaptered fic about Lily and James! All of the chapters will be fairly short (about this size) and they'll come out once a week on Sundays. So look out for the next chapter in a week!

The idea for this story came from the 366 Days of Words Word a Day challenge at the HPFCF, just so you know. Each "day" will have a word that will prompt how James decides to flirt with Lily... so you never know where this will go!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this; I know _I_ certainly am having fun writing this. So please review and let me know what you think! I love feedback, and it will help me to improve. Is there anything in this story that you want to see? _Don't_ want to see? Let me know by dropping me a review!

Thank you so much! Take care!

-Selene


	2. James: January part 2

January 8 - Profligacy

The next day, James decided to try something a little different. Obviously _talking_ to Lily hadn't worked, but that didn't mean that he couldn't _give _her something.

"But Prongs," Remus had said, stifling a laugh. "She didn't accept your New Years present! I doubt she'll accept whatever it is you plan on giving her _now_."

"Trust me," James had responded. "This time, I won't fail!"

He was _fairly_ right; he'd set the situation up in a way that made it highly unlikely for him to fail. For as Marlene had inadvertently distracted Lily that morning at breakfast, James had snuck into her bag and stolen all of her quills. So during Charms class, when the time came to take out a quill, James could easily slip a brand new peacock feathered quill over her shoulder.

"Here," he said from behind her. "Take mine."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she turned around to face him. "What the _bloody_ hell-"

"It's a nice quill," James said quickly with a smile. "Expensive. But if you don't have one, Evans, then feel free to take it. I'm sure you'll give it a good home."

Lily glanced down at it. "It's a little... too profligate for my taste."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"It means recklessly extravagant," Lily said. "You're not the only one who owns a dictionary, Potter."

"Well, I'm impressed, then," James said with a smile.

Lily just snorted. "I don't need to impress _you_," she said, handing the quill back to him. "And thanks, but no thanks, I'll just borrow a less... ostentatiously _gay_ quill from Dorcas."

She turned around again, as from behind him, Sirius started cracking up. "She's right, mate," Sirius whispered. "That quill does make you look a bit gay. She probably thinks you play for the other team now!"

But James shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I learned something from this, that's the important thing. I now know that Lily doesn't like extravagant things."

* * *

January 9 - Heterotelic

After the failure that was the previous day's attempt, James decided to go back to the most basic form of gift giving: time. "Hey, Evans," he said with a grin as he plopped down onto the common room couch that evening. "What are you working on?"

"Charms homework," Lily said without bothering to raise her eyes. It seems he hadn't really captured her attention.

"Need any help?"

This, on the other hand, _did_ grab her attention. She met his gaze, a look of astonishment on her face. "From _you_? Hardly."

"Oh, come on. I can study with you for an hour, or so. I haven't done the revisions yet either-"

"Then how do you expect to be of any use to me?" Lily asked with a shake of her head. "Not to mention that, by your own admission, you don't actually _know_ anything. You just use big words to trick people into thinking you know things. And I do _not_ want to do that!"

"I'll find a way-"

"Go bother someone else, Potter. If you need someone to entertain you-"

"I do _not_!"

"I'm sure Black is available," she said with a roll of her eyes. "But, please. Leave me alone; I'm working."

With a scowl, James stood up, his hands balled into fists at his side. "Fine then. Enjoy your heterotelic homework in peace, _Evans_."

She just looked back at her work. "Enjoy reading the dictionary, Potter."

* * *

January 10 - Paregmenon

James soon realized that he had an even _bigger_ problem to deal with in terms of winning Lily's love: Severus Snape. It was apparent to anyone who even _glanced_ at the boy that Snape was in love with Lily as well. While initially, James wasn't too concerned about Snape as a potential rival, it had become increasingly clear to him that the Slytherin was a force to be reckoned with.

Lily distrusted Snape - ever since he'd called her a mudblood in front of their entire class, she'd resented him and refused to rekindle their friendship. However, she _still_ studied with the boy for potions, and that thought truly aggravated James.

But what could he do? Snape was the best in their year, without a doubt. If Lily needed Snape's help in studying, then he could hardly tell her to stop - for one thing, they weren't even together, and for another, that would just be cruel.

He _could_, on the other hand, join their study session and monitor it from the inside. That seemed like the best way to neutralize Snape. So that Saturday, James pulled up a chair to the table that Lily and Snape were working at and, with a big grin, sat down. "Hey Evans," he said, ignoring Snape completely.

"Potter," she said, her voice cautious. "What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Not much. What are you doing?"

"Working on the potions essay," she said slowly. "So if you don't mind-"

"Oh, I can help you with that," James said cheerfully.

Snape snorted. "I highly doubt that. Potions does not appear to be your... forte."

"Be that as it may," James said, his eyes narrowing a bit. "I still know what Slughorn _wants_." He turned back to Lily. "Slughorn likes it when you fluff his ego a bit. You know, write things like 'from your wise wisdom, I can tell that-'"

"She'll not use _paregmenons_ to make her point, Potter," Snape spat.

But James just gave him a smile. "Oh, now isn't _that_ a big word. I'm surprised you could remember it, _Snivellus_."

The greasy haired boy made a move to hit James, but Lily stopped him. "That's _enough_," she said firmly, her sharp eyes set on James. "Go away, Potter. You're not helping."

James frowned. This wasn't at all what he'd intended. "But-"

"Go!"

* * *

January 11 - Expostulate

"My, aren't _you_ in a right foul mood," Sirius chuckled from his bed.

James let out a growl and chucked a shoe at his best friend. "Evans is studying with Snivellus _again_," he sneered. "How could she do this to me? How could she study with him, when I-"

"Don't matter to her," Remus said with a sigh, before flipping the page of his book. "Really now, Prongs. I thought we've been over this."

"We have, but-"

"You can't _blame_ her for wanting a good grade in potions," Remus pointed out.

"But why him? Why Snape? Of all the evil, no good, bloody _Slytherins_ in this school-" James began.

"Why would she choose one that's _not_ openly hostile towards her most of the time?" Sirius finished with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, that _is_ a conundrum."

"You know what I mean!"

"You're just going to have to deal with it, James," Remus said with a shake of his head. "You can't mandate who Lily spends her time with - not yet, anyway. So you'll have to just be quiet and bide your time."

His eyes narrowed. "Or..." he began, his eyes narrowing. "Or I could get rid of Snape somehow. Lessen the competition-"

"That's ridiculous!" Remus said.

Sirius, on the other hand, considered it. "Not a bad idea."

"No!" Remus protested with a shake of his head. His voice took on an expostulatory tone. "No! You can _not_ harm the competition! You have to win Lily's heart fair and square or not at all, do you understand, James?"

But the marauder was already lost in thought, dreaming up his first play to take down Snape. "Sure," he said dismissively. "Whatever you say."

* * *

January 12 - Viscid

James decided to put his plans to destroy Snape on hold, however, because Snape and Lily didn't have any classes together until Wednesday, and there was obviously no point in embarrassing and tarnishing Snape if Lily wouldn't be around to witness it. Instead, James temporarily went back to his initial plan - winning Lily over.

On that Monday, James chose to use his sway over the house-elves to get Lily another gift - a cinnamon roll.

Being from a magical family, James had never before experienced the delectable, gooey wonder that was the muggle cinnamon roll. It wasn't until Dorcas had made them for Remus that he first experienced the sugary treat, and he'd loved them ever since.

_These things are so delicious_, he thought to himself as he slid into his seat beside Lily at breakfast that day. _No one can possibly resist them. Lily will love me for sure!_

As the food appeared before them, Lily wrinkled her nose. "_Cinnamon_ rolls?" she asked, a look of bewilderment upon her face.

"Oh, that sounds delicious," James said, feigning innocence. "I might have to have one. Or two, even."

"Well you can have mine," Lily said in disgust. "Yuck. I've never heard of a more glutinous, viscid food in my entire life!."

James spent the rest of the morning sulking as he gorged himself on the giant cinnamon roll.

* * *

January 13 - Desinence

James wasn't ready to give up, though. After their Charms class the next day, James approached her with what he _thought_ was a cunning plan; it was near foolproof. "Hey Evans!" he called out, grabbing her arm. He ran a hand through his untidy hair as Lily turned to look at him. "Listen, you did really well today in class."

She raised an eyebrow. "Thank you..." she said cautiously.

"Yeah, well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind meeting up with me sometime tomorrow to go over the spell," he said with a grin. "You could help me out, give me some pointers-"

"Potter, what are you talking about?" Lily asked. "You did better then I did!"

James mentally winced. _I guess I shouldn't have actually tried in class, then,_ he thought. But he recovered quickly. "Well then," he said, flashing her a cocky smile. "So you were watching me today, huh?"

Lily scowled before she turned around. "Don't be so full of yourself," she said as she began to walk away. "Besides," she threw over her shoulder. "Wednesdays are no good for me. Severus is tutoring me in potions on Wednesdays."

"What? I thought that was Saturday-"

"And Wednesday," she said with a shake of her head. "Not that it's really your business."

James fought the urge to slam his head against the wall. But he _wanted _it to be his business!

* * *

January 14 - Outrance

James struck right before potions class ended.

It was easy - too easy. He almost thought that Snape wasn't paying any attention to what he was doing. Snivellus should have noticed immediately when James threw the extra billy wings into Snape's potion. He should have informed Slughorn that something had gone wrong. He should have made a preemptive strike.

But Snape hadn't.

A large pillar of smoke shot up from Snape's cauldron, spiraling in the air and drawing the attention of everyone in the room to the greasy haired boy.

"Mr. Snape!" Slughorn said, his eyes growing wide. He hurried over to the cauldron. "Mr. Snape! What, in the name of _Merlin_ happened here-"

"Do you _really_ want to study with _him," _James whispered to Lily as the class snickered at the Slytherin boy.

"Shut up!" Lily responded with a glare.

To James' surprise and dismay, however, Snape didn't look concerned for his potion at all. "It's nothing to worry about, Professor," Snape said with a wave of his hand. "I've modified the energy solution a bit. If one adds billy wings and mandrake root, one can increase the amount of energy obtained while decreasing the nausea and other side effects." James frowned. This didn't sound good.

"But..." Slughorn stuttered. "But the smoke-"

"Is the only side effect of this new version of the potion that I can notice," Snape conceded. "Though I will need to test in more thoroughly." Snape's gaze connected with James', and that was when he knew. Snape had been playing him. He knew the _moment_ that James had dropped the billy wings into the potion. He looked quite the fool.

"Well then..." Slughorn said. "Perhaps you should see me after class to discuss this... development. If you're right, however, I could see some points for Slytherin on the horizon!"

Lily turned her own smug gaze back to James. "You know what?" she said with a chuckle. "Yes. Yes I would like to study with Snape, Potter."

James suppressed a groan. Not only had he failed to make Snape look like an idiot, he'd actually made Lily like him _more_. This was not a part of his plot at all. _I may need to go to a more extreme plan,_ he thought. _In fact, I may need a completely outrance plan._

* * *

I know I'm a few hours late and that technically this is being posted on Monday, but I have a good excuse; I promise. Ready? ...I flew across the country today! I travelled from my west coast hometown back to my east coast new home (er... college home?). So it was a rather hectic/internet deprived day. But if you're on the west coast, then this is on time, so all is well.

As requested by warriorstar2000 I've included some Snape action... I was initially going to bring him in later (Marchish), but I figured "Why not?" So let me know if there's anything that you want to see! Drop me a review and tell me what you think!

Thank you so much! Take care!

-Selene


	3. James: January part 3

January 15 - Perspicacious

The day after the stunt Snape had pulled in their potions class, James did the only thing he could think of - he confronted the Slytherin. "Snape!" he called out after charms. "Wait up!"

Snape scowled at the boy, but nonetheless slowed his paced. "What do you want, Potter."

"Nothing," James said, a good-natured grin upon his face. "Nothing at all. I just want to talk."

Snape rolled his eyes. "That's hardly nothing," he said, beginning to walk at his natural pace once more. "For talking with you is, I find, a rather arduous experience."

"Likewise," James snapped. He took a deep breath, calming himself, before he smiled at the boy once more. "Look, you and Lily are... friendly again. I may not like it, but I have to accept that I'll be seeing a lot of you-"

"Why?" Snape asked with a smirk. "How does my friendship with Lily mean _we'll_ be spending time together?"

He blinked. "Well, Lily and I are friends-"

"But that's just it Potter. You and Lily are _not_ friends. She can barely _tolerate_ you." He shook his head. "I know what you're after, Potter, but it's of no use. Lily Evans does not like you. She will _never_ date you."

But James just kept a straight face. "You like her too."

Snape rolled his eyes once more. "Oh, very good, Potter. How perspicacious of you to notice." He stopped walking and grabbed a hold of James' arm, his eyes tight. "Now you listen to me, Potter, and you listen well, for I'll only say this once: If it comes down to a competition between you and I for Lily's affections, you will lose."

James snorted. "There's no way-"

"You will lose because you don't know her. You don't know anything about her. You didn't grow up with her, not like I did."

James tilted his head to the side. "All the more reason she won't see me as a brother, _Snape_."

But to his dismay, Snape just gave him a small, mocking smile. "All the more reason she'll never trust you with her secrets, _Potter._" With that last remark, Snape turned on his heel and stalked off, leaving James to ponder his parting words.

It was as he was thinking them over that James came upon a rather startling revelation - Snape was right. He really didn't know _anything_ about Lily. He needed to change that. Soon.

* * *

January 16 - Alate

"I hate that he's right," James groaned, flopping onto his bed in the mid-afternoon. "He _shouldn't_ be right, but he is! There's so much I still don't know about Lily! So much! And I'm pursuing her anyway! As if all of the things I don't know are unimportant." He sighed as he rubbed at his eyes. "Remus, what the hell is wrong with me?"

"If you really feel that way, Prongs, then maybe you should give up the chase-"

"And give Sirius the satisfaction of being right? No way!" He sat up, his eyes narrowed in thought. "I can't back out of this bet, but... but I feel like I'm a horrible person, you know?"

"Not really," Remus said as he crossed his legs beneath him. "Unlike you, I actually _knew_ Dorcas before we began dating."

"Thanks for that."

"Well, tell me about her, then," he said, grabbing a pad of paper and a quill from the bedside table. He passed it over to James. "Take notes. What do you know?"

He frowned. "Well... she doesn't like frilly, outlandish things. Or cinnamon rolls. She's good at charms. She thinks she's bad at potions..." He looked to Remus for help. "Uh..."

"She hates insects," Remus said with a slow nod. "Or at least the ones that fly. She doesn't like that they could be sitting on a wall and then suddenly zip across the room."

James nodded as he scribbled the fact down. "Okay."

"She's allergic to cashews. Found that one out the hard way first year."

"So no alate creatures or cashews. Go on."

"She hates lilies," Remus said, leaning forward in his chair. "She doesn't like how they pun off of her name. Dorcas says her favorite flowers are violets."

James raised an eyebrow. "Violets? Really?"

"Yes." Remus reached onto his nightstand once more, and this time pulled a book from it. "But you know what the best way to learn about Lily is?"

"What?"

"Talk to her yourself," he said as he opened the book and began to read.

* * *

January 17 - Persnickety

James was a little nervous - he had so much to learn about Lily, and so little time to learn it. But he had to make an effort. He _had_ to get to know her better than Snape did.

"Hey Evans!"

Lily sighed as she turned in her seat at the Gryffindor table that Saturday to face James. "Potter."

"What's your favorite color?"

She was thrown by the sudden questioning, unsure of what he was really thinking. "What?"

"Your favorite color. What is it?"

"Green," she said hesitantly. "Why?"

He shrugged. "No reason. What about your favorite drink?"

"I've... I've always been partial to pumpkin juice-"

"Favorite fruit?"

"Pear, but I don't-"

"Favorite food?"

She frowned. "Well I like pears-"

"No! That's you're favorite _fruit_," James said with a laugh. "What's your favorite _food._"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Chocolate cake, then-"

"No, that's your favorite _dessert_! I want your favorite food!"

"Potter, why are you being so... so..."

"Persnickety?" he provided with a grin.

"Yes!" she snapped, glaring at the boy. "I swear to Merlin, Potter, if you're playing some kind of a trick on me-"

"I'm not. Now answer the question!"

"Grilled chicken," she said almost reluctantly. "I like grilled chicken and potatoes."

"Interesting. Most people would have said steak and potatoes."

"Well, I don't like steak," she confessed, watching his reaction.

"Even more interesting."

"Potter-"

"Got to go! See you later, Evans," he said, before hurrying out of the Great Hall. A smile was on his face. Meanwhile, Lily stared after him in confusion, wondering what the hell was going on.

* * *

January 18 - Shiv

James knew that there was _so_ much more to Lily Evans than what her favorite color was. However, he also knew that if he wanted to know everything about her, he had to start out with the small things. He planned to keep questioning her relentlessly about _everything_ until he was an expert on her.

Unfortunately, his plan was rather quickly debunked.

"How has your day been, Evans?" James asked with a grin as he slid into a seat beside the redhead during dinner.

A glare was already in place on her face. "Potter, I'm _not_ going to play twenty questions today-"

"That's all right," he said with a smile as his mind whirled. He quickly changed tactics. "I just wanted to see if you would finally take my New Years present."

She groaned. "I thought you'd given up that game!"

"Surely not," he said as he piled pieces of pork onto his plate. "You _must_ know me well enough by now to know that I'm not one to give up _that_ easily."

"Potter-"

"Come on, Evans," he said as he began to saw at the meat. He wanted to see if he'd made any progress with her. He needed her to _want_ his gift. "Take the present."

"No."

"Evans!" he groaned, throwing his hands in the air. He began to gesture with his hands as he spoke. "You're being absolutely ridiculous. What could you lose by taking this-"

"How about my eye," she snapped, grabbing onto his wrist. "Would you put the knife _down_ before you start doing that? It's not a shiv; it's not supposed to be waved about with no concern for my safety!"

James winced. "Sorry. I'm sorry, Evans-"

"Right," she said, standing up. "I think I'm just move on until you're less danger-prone." She left the Great Hall without a backwards glance, leaving James to put his head down in silence.

* * *

January 19 - Deucedly

That Monday, James sat down for yet another heart to heart with Remus, though this one occurred in Remus' venue of choice: the school library. "Nothing's working, Moony. She _still _won't take my present, even though I've tried to get to know her-"

"For a _day_," Remus snorted. "These things take time, Prongs. One day isn't good enough-"

"I _know_ that. But this isn't just about Sirius and I anymore, mate. _Snape_ wants Lily. Snape wants to _date_ Lily - hell, he probably wants to _marry_ her!"

"So?"

"So now I have competition!" He groaned and shook his head. "He's my competition."

"I never thought I'd ever hear you refer to Snape as anything but Snivellus," Remus said, bemused.

"Neither did I. But Moony... he _knows _her. Not only that, she _tolerates_ him. A lot more then she tolerates me, frankly. If anyone is going to win Lily over the course of this term, it's going to be Snape, not me."

"Prongs, you used to ask her out as a _joke_. Does it really surprise you that she's not your biggest fan?"

"Not really." He sighed. "Maybe this whole thing is stupid."

"You're being ridiculous," Remus said with a roll of his eyes. "For someone who's the founder of the Marauders, you sure do give up easily."

"Moony-"

"You need to apologize, James. Apologize for being such a git to her for all of these years. And then go and make her love you!"

"But-"

"Think about it," he said, leaning forward. "You have a gift: your creativity. You, James Potter, are the most creative man I know - deucedly so, even. There's so much that you could do to win her heart, James. All you have to do is get creative."

* * *

January 20 - Remora

"I need to talk to you, Sirius."

The black haired bad-boy raised an eyebrow, a small smirk slipping onto his face. "Well, well. I haven't seen you look this determined since the Quidditch finals last year. To what do I owe this great resolve?"

"It's about our bet-"

"Giving up already, are you? I have to say, that was _much _quicker then I'd thought-"

"Stop that," James interrupted. "I'm not giving up. But I... I want your help."

Sirius frowned. "Really? You want my help? Prongs, I don't know if you've realized, but you and I are on opposite sides of the betting pool, mate. I want you to _lose_. Not win."

"I know that!" he snapped in frustration. "But I'm not asking for you to help me win Lily over."

"Then what _are_ you asking?"

"I want you to help me take Snape out of the picture."

Sirius snorted. "Really? Why would I do _that_? Snape will help me win - never thought I'd say that. But I can't have him eliminated-"

"Sirius, this is bigger than our stupid bet! Don't you see? If Snape wins Lily's heart... She'll become tainted. She'll change for the worst. I don't want to see that happen, and I'm pretty sure you don't either." He clasped Sirius' shoulder. "Snivellus is a remora that needs to be removed, Padfoot."

"But the bet-"

"Is still on. I'm fighting for Lily's heart, same as before. We're just making sure that Snape isn't waiting in the wings for her if I fail."

"That feels like cheating."

James just gave his best mate a cocky grin, though. "We're marauders. Cheating is what we do."

* * *

January 21 - Natheless

James took a deep breath, as he stepped into the corridor. He glanced around, before his sights set on the person he was searching for. "Evans! Hey, wait up!"

Lily sighed to herself as she stopped walking. She motioned for Dorcas and Marlene to go on ahead to Herbology without her. "Yes, Potter?"

"Look... I know you and I aren't exactly the best of friends-"

She couldn't help but snort. "You can say that again."

"Natheless," James said, speaking as though he hadn't heard her. "I want to change that. You know, we've only got another year and a half left, right? It's time we all started to grow up. Get along. We need to make the most of the time we have with our peers, because this will all be over with so quickly, you know?"

Lily, however, wasn't swayed by his sentimental speech. "What are you getting at, Potter?"

He hesitated. "I want... I want you to forget about me. The _old_ me, anyway. The one that used to pick on you, and laugh at you, and jokingly ask you out. I... I was wrong about that. And I'm sorry."

She raised an eyebrow. "Okay."

"I just... I want us to start over and be friends. I know I've been kind of spastic lately-"

"Kind of?" she quipped.

"Okay, really spastic," he admitted begrudgingly. "But I just want to make my final years at Hogwarts the best they can be. I want us to be friends, Evans. Or, at the very least, I want you not to hate me. Can you do that?"

But she just gave him a smirk as she turned around and walked off. "Can't make any promises."

* * *

Wow, this is crazy late... But hasn't exactly been the most reliable of websites these past two weeks. I've had trouble posting stories, the forums have been completely down... But it looks like everything is fixed now! Huzzah! Let the weekly updates commence!

So drop me a review and tell me what you think! I'd love to hear any and every opinion that you have! And thank you for being so awesome and reading and reviewing!

Thank you so much! Take care!

-Selene


	4. James: January part 4

January 22 - Slimsy

"Well," James said to Remus the next day, once he had gotten the werewolf alone, "I apologized. I told her that I was sorry for being such a git."

"_And_?"

"And she... didn't really say much. At all... It was rather disappointing, really." James shook his head with a sigh as Moony hesitantly shut his book. "I thought... I thought you said Lily _wanted_ to hear an apology. I thought you said that she'd forgive me if I said I was sorry, and that we'd be able to talk-"

"You ask me that as though I'm able to _promise_ anything," Remus said with a roll of his eyes.

"It was your bloody advice!"

"Things take _time_, James," Remus said for what felt like the hundredth time. "You... you're so daft! She's not going to just _forget_ all of your past indiscretions with the blink of an eye! An apology is a start, but you have to give her more than a day and a slimsy 'I'm sorry' to earn her affections!"

"I know," James groaned. "But... I like her, Moony. You _know_ that. And what with the bet... there's just a lot of pressure on me right now, you know?"

"Maybe that's part of your problem," he said knowingly. "Maybe the reason you're so awkward with Lily is because you're trying too hard to win her love _today_. Don't think of you wooing Lily as a time-limited activity. Think of it as you going after the girl you love."

* * *

January 23 - Educe

"Hey, Evans," James said with a smile. He _knew _that Remus was right - he had to be patient if he wanted to educe Lily's affection for him out into the open. But his recent realization that patience really _was_ a virtue didn't mean he had to stop talking to her altogether...

"Potter."

"Listen," he said flashing her a bright smile. "The Quidditch match of Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw is next week. You going?"

"Probably not."

"Really?" his brow furrowed. "Why not?"

She shrugged. "I've never really understood Quidditch. Therefore, I don't particularly enjoy watching it."

"Well go with me," James said, as though the idea had just occurred to him. "It'll be fun."

"I don't think so."

"No, really," James said, letting out a short laugh. "It doesn't have to be some big thing. You know, it'll just be two fellow Gryffindors hanging out. I can explain the rules to you and everything."

She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Quidditch bores me."

"Yes, but the _entire_ school will be talking about the match the next day. You don't want to be left out now, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "I don't mind."

"Well, just think about it, then. Think about coming with me." He flashed her a grin. "I promise you, it won't be boring."

"Oh, Potter," she said with a shake of her head as she moved away from him. "I _know_ I don't have to worry about that with you."

* * *

January 24 - Bleb

"Evans! Hey! Hey, Evans!" James called, as he raced down the corridor.

Lily sighed, briefly shutting her eyes as she came to a halt. "Yes, Potter?"

"Look at what my mum just sent me in the mail," he exclaimed as he reached into his bag. "She went shopping in muggle London yesterday, and she picked this up for me - said it looked like something I would enjoy. Look!" From his brown side-bag, he pulled out a small blue bottle of muggle bubbles.

Lily stared. "What?"

"They're bubbles!" James explained as he unscrewed the lid. "You dip the plastic circle wand thing into the mixture and you blow-"

"I _know_ what bubbles are," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "But why do _you_ have them?"

"I _told_ you, my mum-"

"The only people who play with blebs, Potter, are _children_," she said with a roll of her eyes. "You got that? Young children - so young they can't even be left home alone."

"But..." he said, disappointment coloring his face. "But they're fun."

She patted him lightly on the arm. "I'm sure they are," she said as she started to walk away, unaware that she had severely crushed both his romantic intentions and his confidence.

* * *

January 25 - Mettle

"Evans!" James called out. He mentally winced as he heard the redhead groan to herself. _That_ didn't bode well... "Sorry," he said as she turned around. "If you're busy-"

"What do you want, Potter?"

"The Quidditch match," he said with a shrug. "It's this Saturday you know. I was wondering if you'd given going to the match with me any more thought."

She made a face. "Not really."

He sighed. "Evans," he muttered with a shake of his head. A small, cocky grin bloomed on his face. "Here I am, with the mettle to ask you to come to the match with me for a _second_ time, and you _still_ haven't even thought about it. That's a little cold."

She frowned. "I thought you said you were done with picking on me and _jokingly_ asking me out-"

"I am," he said quickly. "And I'm not asking you to go with me as a _date_. Just as friends. Remember, I said I wanted to be friends-"

"I know," Lily said with a roll of her eyes. "I never actually agreed to that."

"Well, I think you should," James said with a soft smile. He _needed _her to want him to be her friend. "After all, you _know_ I never make fun of my friends. Well," he reconsidered. "Not in a mean-spirited way, at least. So be my friend. You'll be safe from my pranks, I promise you." He gave a mock bow. "Come to the game with me."

She narrowed her eyes, and very slowly shook her head. "I'll tell you what," she said at last. "This time, I actually _will_ think about it."

* * *

January 26 - Conciliate

"So," Sirius asked one night as they got ready for bed. "How goes the bet?"

"Bet?" Peter asked, his eyes widening. "What bet?"

Remus chuckled to himself. "Oh, Wormtail, you _are_ behind."

"What?"

James sighed. It's not that he'd wanted to keep Peter excluded from this game. Peter was just so obvious in his actions - he couldn't keep a secret to save his life. He knew that if Peter found out about the bet, it would be over with before it even started. "It's nothing," James said with a glare towards Sirius.

"What's nothing?"

"Thanks a lot, Padfoot," James muttered.

"We could spell him," Sirius said in response. "Hex him so that he _can't_ say anything."

"What, an unbreakable _vow_?" James asked.

"_What_?" Peter squeaked.

"Perhaps something a little more mild," Remus suggested as he settled into his bed. "A burning jinx, maybe?"

"You want to l-light me on f-fire?" he stammered.

"Not at all," Remus said, grabbing for a library book on his nightstand. "There's a jinx in here - it probably originated in Dark Magic, to be honest - that makes the speaker's throat burn and swell up every time they try to speak of the forbidden subject in unwanted company."

"Really?" Sirius asked in awe.

"How is that not illegal?" James said with eyebrows raised.

Remus shrugged. "It's fairly antiquated. As is this text," he said, holding up the book. "My guess is that this curse was forgotten about."

"That's brilliant!"

"Well, let's do it," Sirius said. "It's the best way to be sure this... information stays within the family."

Remus nodded. "Give me twenty minutes to read over the text to make sure I have it right."

"Take your time."

"I d-don't understand!" Peter said, looking back and forth between his friends. "W-why do you want to c-curse me?"

James smiled as he went to sit beside the boy on his bed. "Oh, Wormtail. It all begins with my quest to conciliate the love and affection of a girl..."

* * *

January 27 - Birr

That Tuesday found James being forcefully bumped against by one Severus Snape. The Slytherin bat glared at his rival as he purposefully knocked shoulders with him, causing the Gryffindor seeker to stumble. "Watch it," James snapped.

But Snape just smirked. "Have you given up your ludicrous plan to try and seduce Lily Evans yet, _Potter_."

James' eyes narrowed. "I should be asking _you_ that."

"I? I have no plans to do anything nefarious to her," Snape said, pulling his bag more firmly onto his shoulder. "You on the other hand... well, your reputation proceeds you."

"For the record, Snape, Lily has _forgiven_ me for making fun of her for all of those years." _Well,_ James thought to himself, s_he hasn't _yet_. But Snape doesn't need to know that_...

"And likewise, she's forgiven me for calling her a mudblood," Snape said, leaning in closer to James. "But that doesn't mean she's suddenly willing to jump in my _bed_."

James' eyes widened. "You think... you think I'm just trying to _sleep_ with her?"

But Snape was already shaking his head as he moved past him, his voice filled with birr. "Oh, Potter. That's as close to romance as you and Black seem to get. And the whole school knows it."

* * *

January 28 - Hotchpot

"All right, what have we got?" James asked as he stared down at the hotchpot of clothing items that were strewn about on his bed. He held up a red and gold tie. "Really? A tie? To go to a _Quidditch_ match?"

"It's classy. Evans will respect that," Remus said, defending his choice of attire.

"But it's a _Quidditch _match," James said with a shake of his head. "I don't want to look like I'm trying too hard."

"You _are_ trying too hard," Remus said with a roll of his eyes. "She hasn't even said yes, yet! There's no need for you to go about and choose an _outfit_ to wear on this date that may or may not happen!"

"It's not a date," Sirius said with a chuckle.

"Unfortunately," James muttered.

"What about this?" Peter said, holding up a black sweater-vest. "It _is_ late January - it's bound to be cold out there, you know."

James made a face. "This may not be a date, Wormtail, but I still want to _dress_ as though it's one. And a sweater-vest most certainly does _not_ say 'date material'. Of course," he considered. "That might not be such a bad thing." He looked up at Sirius. "Apparently, Snape thinks all I'm trying to do is sleep with her. Says my reputation proceeds me."

Sirius scoffed. "He quite obviously doesn't know that you're still a virgin then."

James rolled his eyes. "You just love saying that."

"I do."

"Which means that it's _your_ reputation that proceeds me, Padfoot," he continued on. "He thinks that because you're both a little loose and my best mate that all I'm trying to do is score with Lily."

"What does it matter, what Snape thinks?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing! But it matters what _Lily_ thinks, and if Snape has hinted that I might be trying to sleep with her..."

Sirius grinned, holding up a clean black shirt and a woolen black jacket. "Then you best make this the best non-date you've ever had, Prongs."

* * *

Oh, dear I haven't updated in awhile. But I've already started the next chapter, so hopefully I'll have that up soon! Just a head's up, the month of February will be from **Lily's point of view**! So don't get too confused! I plan to alternate POVs between the months, so halfway into next chapter, the POV will subtly switch. I hope you enjoy it!

So drop me a review and tell me what you think! I'd love to hear any and every opinion that you have! And thank you for being so awesome and reading and reviewing!

Thank you so much!

-Selene


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